Camera and Batteries

I've been having the strangest problem with a Pentax camera recently. It's a very nice camera in terms of features and pixels, but it DEVOURS batteries. Or, at least, I thought it did.

Basically, if I recharge my NiMH batteries and put them in the camera, but don't use it right away-- when I get around to turning the camera on hours later, it will complain that the batteries are depleted. Okay, it was just a quirk of the camera I had to remember-- for some reason, it uses up batteries even when it isn't on. Not a big deal, just remember to carry the batteries separately in the bag and put them in right before use.

Except, when I was on vacation, I forgot to take a pair of batteries out for overnight. And the camera worked fine the next day. So, obviously the camera isn't to blame. At this point, the trouble-shooter in me has become intrigued. Perhaps it's the batteries? After all, the batteries I'm using have been through lots of cycles, charging and discharging. Maybe they just can't hold enough energy to reliably power the camera.

So, I buy brand new rechargeable batteries, charge them up over night-- and the camera eats them up in seconds. I charge the batteries again, figuring maybe I didn't leave them in long enough. At first, the camera is happy-- and then, less than 12 hours later when I go to actually use the camera, the batteries fail on me again.

At this point, I'm starting to get a little peeved. Brand new batteries, and the camera worked once with another set of the older batteries. So, what's left? The only other piece I can think of in the equation is the charger.

I wound up borrowing my mother's battery charger for a bit, recharge the batteries, and so far the camera has been working just fine.

So, it's got to be the charger. Right? Not so fast, because there's a curve ball. I successfully used the old charger when we were away on vacation. The real test is for me to use the old charger, with the old batteries, but on a different electrical outlet.